THE NEW CREATION IN REVELATION

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev 21:1–2).

As I have been arguing in this series of studies on Revelation, this prophetic book is presenting God’s divorce of his old covenant wife Israel in AD 70 (Rev 5 presents the divorce decree). In Rev 6-19 (with interludes and asides) we witness his adulterous wife’s capital punishment. Now in the two closing chapters, we are witnesses to his marriage to his new bride, the new covenant church of Jesus Christ. The new creation is an image of the new covenant. This new Jerusalem-bride is the “Jerusalem above” (Gal 4:26), the “heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb 12:22) to which all believers in Christ belong.

The new creation/Jerusalem of Revelation 21–22 begins in the first century, although it unfolds throughout history and stretches out into eternity in its ultimate consummation. Note the following evidence for its coming in the first century.

First, the time frame strongly suggests it.
Especially in that it follows closely upon the vision of the new creation/Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem is described in Revelation 21:2–22:5. Then immediately after it is presented we read the words: “And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true’; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place” (Rev 22:6). This is confirmed just four verses later where John is commanded not to seal up the words of Revelation: “And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.’”

Second, Revelation’s flow clearly suggests it.The new Jerusalem (Rev 20–22) immediately replaces the old Jerusalem (Rev 16–19) rather than waiting several thousand years. Jerusalem is destroyed in AD 70, it is only logical that it would be replaced by the spiritual Jerusalem immediately. In fact, the spiritual Jerusalem overlaps it, already being formed in the first century prior to AD 70.

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Third, earlier teaching on the new creation.Elsewhere Scripture teaches that the new creation (salvation) enters history before the final consummation. For instance, in 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read language very similar to Revelation 21:1 and 5: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (cp. Eph 2:10; 4:24; Gal 6:15). John’s Old Testament backdrop is clearly Isaiah 65:17–25.

Note especially verses 17 and 20: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. . . . No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; for the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed.” Notice that the new creation on earth still experiences sin, aging, and death in the physical realm; thus, it cannot refer to heaven and eternity.

Fourth, the New Testament anticipates a change.
The NT expects the immediate change of the old era into the new. For instance, in John 4:21 Christ teaches the Samaritan woman: “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” Hebrews teaches much about the approaching passing of the old covenant. One clear passage is Heb 8:13 reads: “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.”

Fifth, the New Testament speaks of the bride.
In the NT the church is Christ’s bride (Eph 5:25ff; 2Co 11:2ff; Jn 3:29). God does not have two wives; his new covenant bride replaces his old covenant wife, Israel, in AD 70.

Eschatological Themes: Postmillennialism and Preterism (7 CDs) These lectures cover themes important for understanding the relationship of preterism and postmillennialism. The issues covered are not only important but fascinating as you come to realize better and better that the looming of AD 70 had an enormous influence on the New Testament.
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